Lenape

[ luh-nah-pey, luh-nah-pee, len-uh-pee ]

noun

, plural Len·a·pes, (especially collectively) Len·a·pe.

1. Delaware ( defs 5, 6 ).

Word History and Origins

Origin of Lenape¹

1720–30, Americanism; < Unami Delaware ləná·p·e (equivalent to Proto-Algonquian *elen- ordinary + *-a·pe·w man)

Example Sentences

In 2018, for example, the American Museum of Natural History in New York City modified a diorama depicting an imaginary meeting between 17th century Dutch settlers and a group of Lenape Indigenous people by adding overlays to the glass that explained the ways the scene was historically inaccurate.

From Los Angeles Times

From the outset, co-showrunners Joe Port and Joe Wiseman knew they wanted to include a Native American character, so they created Sasappis, a wry Lenape man who died as a hopelessly romantic young soul and became a cynic.

From Los Angeles Times

The actor worked closely with Lenape consultant Joe Baker and Mvskoke Creek writer John Timothy to craft the stories that his character tells at the end of the episode — but the real icing on the cake was that Zaragoza’s father, Gregory, played Sasappis’ father.

From Los Angeles Times

In the language of the Lenape Indigenous people, the word for European explorers who crossed the Atlantic in the 17th century to settle on their lands was “shuwankook,” or “salty people.”

From New York Times

The term first applied to the Dutch, said Brent Stonefish, a Native American spiritual leader, because they emerged from the sea to first trade with, then exploit and kill, his Lenape ancestors.

From New York Times